Surcharge-Free ATM Partners Report Milestones

BETHESDA, Md. & TALLAHASSEE, Fla., -- Two significant forces of the ATM universe that partnered in late 2007 to provide CUs another surcharge-free ATM option have each reported significant milestones.

The two are Credit Union 24--the Florida-based nationwide credit union-owned ATM and EFT network, and Allpoint Network, the nation's largest surcharge-free ATM complex, which is headquartered in Maryland.

Allpoint announced that it has reached 1,000 participating financial institutions, many of them credit unions, and offers surcharge-free access to 32,000 ATMs nationwide. When the network got underway in 2003 it had 23,000 ATMs and a mere handful of clients.

"I am very proud of this achievement," said Ben Psillas, president of Allpoint. "It proves that ATMs continue to be a major factor for consumers when selecting a financial institution, and with the average ATM surcharge increasing sharply in 2007, I believe consumer demand for convenient, surcharge-free access will continue to rise."

Allpoint's pricing model does not surcharge ATM users from a given institution. Rather the network charges the institution a flat fee for surcharge-free access based upon the institutions enrolled card base.

Meanwhile, Credit Union 24 announced that 130 credit unions have signed on for the CU HERE Premium program since December 2007. Credit unions have until the end of 2008 to opt into the program, which is scheduled to go live on Feb. 6.

"We are pleased with the excitement generated by the CU HERE Premium program," said Jim Park, president/CEO of Credit Union 24. "We thought the program would be well received or we wouldn't have gone down this path, but the response from our members has been outstanding. Our members are looking forward to offering access to the nation's largest surcharge-free ATM network to their members and strengthening their credit unions by meeting their members'--and future members'--needs."

Credit Union 24 reported that 29 of the largest 200 CUs in the country have signed onto the CU HERE Premium program and that four of the Top 10 markets in the United States-- Dallas, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta--are represented along with 12 of the Top 50 markets, including credit unions in Tampa/St. Petersburg, New Orleans and Cleveland that chose to join the CU HERE Premium program.

But the network took care, when reporting its success, to illustrate that smaller and mid-sized CUs had also signed on with the Premium program.

"Credit Union 24 understands that regardless of a credit union's size it is important for credit unions to focus on serving, retaining--and--most important--attracting members, and the CU HERE Premium program helps credit unions achieve that by allowing participating credit unions to offer something no other financial institution can--unfettered access to an ATM most anywhere," Park said.

"With the CU HERE Premium program, along with our POS network, which has hundreds of thousands of locations with surcharge-free cash-back capabilities in major retailers across the country, Credit Union 24 is bringing a tremendous access and value to credit unions and their members."